Sunday, 11 January, inParis, a millionand a half peoplecarried by abrotherhoodmomentumwe strongly expected brought fortha vibranthope: that of arenewed andmore welded society!The event was attended byabout sixtyheads ofstate and government joining together against extremeviolence.It mobilizednearly 4million people inFranceand millions ofothers worldwide. Thant day will remainin the historyof our country and,hopefully,in the historyof Europe.Thank you to all of you whosharedwith us inyour own country, for your support to resistterrorismand express ourhumanity!It was a timeof grace, atime during whichpolitical affiliations, beliefs,religions,cultural and social differences, nationalities, woundsof the past havebeen forgotten.We allhad the sameforceful step towards freedom andpeace.All of uswere unitedwith waves of applause, by theanthem,by the flagand the national motto ofFrance :"liberty, Equality, Fraternity"Amessage thatechoes indeedthe motto ofEurope "Unityin diversity"andthe Council of Europe campaign "All different,all equal"!Today, as governments or governed,we allneed the courageofperpetuatingthisspontaneous impulse, this great hopein humanity, democracyand cohesionso as to givemeaning to thesedemonstrations inthe daily life ofour democracies. Let us give substance to such a message at the Councilof Europe andin each of ourcountries!

France just experienced dramatic events shared by the whole world. Let us wish a true capacity of dialogue and understanding among our populations throughout Europe.

Let us wish a true ability for drawing the best from our humanity, from our cultures, our religions in order to fight violence and intolerance.

Let us refuse the escalation of hatred and violence ! Let us reject the amalgam and protect our children from sectarian aberrations ! Let us act with respect for all, regardless of our beliefs and convictions !

Could we join in a huge movement that brings together instead of dividing ! A large uprising for peace, this is my wish for 2015 !

Texts on climate by the committee

Link to the dedicated website

Living together in multicultural societies : respect, dialogue, interaction

The European Local Democracy Week (ELDW) is organized, every year, in October in Europe and beyond. It offers an opportunity to joint actions with local and regional authorities and involvement of citizens